Permanent Residence – Skilled Workers

Skilled workers are persons who can immigrate to Canada based on their occupation. The occupation must be a skilled occupation listed on the Canadian National Occupations Classification (NOC) as a O, A, or B. occupation. The applicant must have at least one year of experience in the occupation. In order to qualify, the applicant must score 67 points based on a system that awards points for language ability in English or French, education, work experience (beyond the one year minimum), arranged employment, age, and several other factors. All skilled occupations, including all Information Technology occupations, are eligible.

As of January 1, 2015, all skilled worker applications will go through a two step process. The first step is the filing of a profile under the Express Entry System. In order to be considered as a skilled worker, you must first meet the 67 point requirement for this category. Candidates who meet this basic requirement will then be ranked against one another based on a new 1200 point “Comprehensive Ranking System.” Every few weeks the government will conduct a “draw,” in which the highest ranked applicants will be issued invitations to apply for permanent residence. These applications will be processed in 6 months in 80% of the cases.